♥♥♥♥♥♥♥: The Blackberry Bush by David Housholder

The Blackberry Bush
David Housholder

Release Date: June 1st, 2011

Publisher: Summerside

Page Count: 172

Source: Complimentary copy provided by B&B Media Group in exchange for an honest and unbiased review (thank you!)

An invitation to a treasure hunt through the landscape of your soul...

Josh grows up an artistic and gifted California Golden Boy, but for all that life has handed to him, he struggles with his identity and role in the world. Surrounded by unrealistic expectations, he feels hedged in.

Kati's German heritage presents its own obstacles to understanding herself and what freedom means. She is crushed by disappointment at never being "enough"—especially for a mother who cannot be satisfied.

As Josh and Kati's lives unfold, longing for true freedom reverberates in their souls. Come discover with them the life-transforming power of a "chance encounter"... or is it chance after all? 

What Stephanie Thinks: If you've lived long enough, you know that nothing in life is a coincidence. Ever witness a miracle? It probably wasn't unintentional, and if you think about it closely, received help from a stranger hand. Though in The Blackberry Bush, this type of intervention is implied to be spiritual, I don't think you have to be Christian (or religious, for that matter) to understand the concept.

Angelo, the unseen and almost unreal narrator who ins and outs from the telling of this story—or these stories, I should say—tampers with the lives of not only our protagonists, Kati and Josh, but also with those of their ancestors, the ones who have shaped their life stories as they know it. He can be considered an angel. Or maybe even God. But I find that part irrelevant, as I'm not a fanatical Christian. For all we know, Angelo could represent a loving grandparent. Or he may not be a person at all, and could instead symbolize the random acts of kindness strangers maneuver. 

To sum up the plot, Josh and Kati live very separate, almost opposite, lives, but are more alike than they could imagine. They come from the same lineage, but don't even know of each other's existence. Josh lives in a world that will never please him. Kati lives in a world that can't be pleased. A life-altering event changes both of their destinies, but for different reasons. While Kati gets her life saved, Josh redeems his true moral value when their paths cross. But of course, at the time, they merely think of it as a coincidence. Which, of course we know, do not exist.

Housholder's voice is strong and easy to read. The quality of the literature is not sublime, but the connection he draws about life and community both haunts and graces. His figurative story is told simply but flowingly in The Blackberry Bush, and for that reason, makes it one of the most thoughtful and remarkable novels of our day.

Stephanie Loves: "I especially like cartwheels. They say boys can't do them, but they are so wrong. I never go a day without cartwheeling. I can even cartwheel along the top of the old stone wall. Mom would wig if she saw that. For an instant in the middle, you feel weightless. There has to be a way to make that moment last longer." 

Radical Rating: 7 hearts: Not without flaws, but overall enjoyable. ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥

♥♥♥: The Case by Mel Nicolai

Hey guys. Why am I up this early? It's actually not early at all but we have a two-hour delay at school today. WOO HOOO!!!!! You don't know how happy I am. So here I am blogging instead of getting my two extra hours of sleep—what the hell is wrong with me?

Firstly, I want to say a great big thanks to those who are following and reading the blog. Thank you all for commenting, for messaging, for reading. YOU guys make me so happy :)

Also, I have been very very bad. I still have not mailed out some of the prizes I owe to winners because I haven't had a chance to run to the post office yet! I sent everyone I owe a postcard in the mail a few days ago, and got a chance to send out swag packs since they only take a stamp or two, but for the people who won bigger prizes. Outta luck! I PROMISE I will get them out as soon as I can. These days have been so hectic for me (it's school, rugby training, music lesson... SNOW DAY) so I really hope you understand. I'm also participating in another hop this weekend so stay tuned for that. I will definitely have prizes mailed out faster this time around.

Now here is a book review. Enjoy!

To be honest, it took me about a month to finish The Case by Mel Nicolai, a mere 108-page book, which says a lot about it. Physically, it was very easy: the font big, the spacing wide, the chapters only a couple pages each; but I didn't understand half the words, and had to read most of the sentences at least four times each to make the most generic sense of them. Occasionally, the sentences would be comprehensive to my mind. Often, they wouldn't.

The entire novel was like reading a philosophy text—more specifically, I related it to Oscar Wilde. Everything in the book seems quotable, a thoughtfully calculated idea the author wanted to convey. Perhaps if the words hadn't been so scientific (well they sounded scientific to me. I mean, who's expected to know what "cingulate" means, anyway?) I could have enjoyed Nicolai as much as I enjoyed Wilde. 

The main problem I had with The Case though, is how it lacks a plot. Maybe Nicolai is such an phenomenal, recalcitrant writer, that I'm too dumb to know what he's talking about. Maybe there is a plot that I have just missed. Either way, I found no point to all 108 pages of the book.

Brock Meirski, the protagonist, is an unbelievably perspicacious, speculative character, but nothing really happens to him. He is supposedly on The Case, but I still don't know what The Case is exactly, even though the book ends, talking about The Case. All Brock really does is wake up, use the toilet, go to the grocery store, say hello to his neighbor, meet a pretty girl, invite the pretty girl to his house, then go to bed. The next morning, he does it all over again. The next morning, well... I don't think there even is a next morning. If there is, I am definitely missing something from the story. My essence is, no excitement or meaning radiate from The Case's words; nothing compilable, nothing to analyze. There is no suspense, no climax, no falling action, which are all necessities of even the most basic fictional story. There were some really neat observances on life and on people, but in the end, it was like adding a dab of different colors of paint to a palette and then mixing the shades all together; a big messy colorless blob.

Sadly, I cannot say I would recommend this book, because of how absurdly aimless it is. If you're studying metaphysics and want to use The Case as a resource to enhance your studies, go ahead. Otherwise, try to keep your distance.

Stephanie Loves: "The present, life in the present, is always up ahead. It's almost like when you're born, a race starts. The doctor slaps you on the ass and everyone and everything takes off at speed. Only you can't run yet. It'll be a few years before you can get in the race, and by then you're so far behind you'll never catch up."

Where Stephanie Got It: Complimentary copy provided by LibraryThing in exchange for an honest and unbiased review (thank you!)

Radical Rating: 3 hearts: Not a fan; I don't recommend this book. ♥♥♥
 

Thanks, guys. You all rock. And roll. Keep on bearing with me xx